An eight-year-old girl has been killed and an eleven-year-old left seriously injured following an accident on a farm in Co. Cork last night.
The tragic incident happened sometime after 6pm yesterday, when the two girls were playing on the farm in Newtownshandrum, near Charleville in north Cork. Both children were struck by a heavy steel bucket that fell from the front of a tractor.
The girls, both the daughters of Lativan couples living in Ireland, received serious injuries to the head and chest.
The younger child was pronounced dead at the scene, despite desperate efforts by locals and emergency service members.
She and her siblings had reportedly been staying with the family of the older child, while her parents visited relatives in their native Lativa. They were due to land back in Dublin airport late last night, and were met at the airport by Gardaí from Fermoy who broke the tragic news.
A post-mortem is expected to be carried out today. The older child remains in a critical condition at Cork University Hospital. SHe was airlifted there by helicoper last night after being treated at the scene by paramedics.
One local garda described the accident as a “desperately sad tragedy.” This is the fifth fatal accident involving a child on Irish farms this year.
